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• care
  care

  noun

  a state of mind in which one is troubled; worry, anxiety, or concern.
• CARE
  CARE

  noun

  a private organization for the collection of funds, goods, etc., for distribution to people in foreign countries who need aid.

care

¹ American  

[kair] / kɛər /

noun

• cares
  plural

1. a state of mind in which one is troubled; worry, anxiety, or concern.

   He was never free from care.

2. a cause or object of worry, anxiety, concern, etc..

   A massage is an excellent way to forget your cares for a little while.

   Their son has always been a heavy care to them.

3. serious attention; solicitude; heed; caution.

   She devotes great care to her work.

4. the provision of what is needed for the well-being or protection of a person or thing.

   He is under the care of a doctor.

   With proper care, the watch will last a lifetime.

5. temporary keeping, as for the benefit of or until claimed by the owner.

   He left his valuables in the care of friends.

   Address my mail in care of the American Embassy.

6. grief; suffering; sorrow.

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verb (used without object)

• cares,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cared,
  past participle,  past
• caring
  present participle

1. to be concerned or solicitous; have thought or regard.

   You can just tell she cares for people's feelings by the way she talks to them.

2. to be concerned or have a special preference (usually used in negative constructions).

   I don't care where we go, I just want to get out of town for a bit.

3. to make provision or look out (usually followed byfor ).

   Will you care for the children while I am away?

4. to have an inclination, liking, fondness, or affection (usually followed byfor ).

   Would you care for dessert?

   I don't care for him very much.

verb (used with object)

• cares,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cared,
  past participle,  past
• caring
  present participle

1. to feel concern about.

   He doesn't care what others say.

2. to wish; desire; like.

   Would you care to dance?

verb phrase

1. care about

   1. to have concern for or interest in.

      It's a privilege to stand in the presence of so many people who care about building a better Canada.

      They don't care about the privacy of the people who use their services.

   2. to have affection for; love.

      One of my greatest joys in life is cooking for those I care about.

idioms

1. take care,

   1. be alert; be careful.

      Take care that you don't fall on the ice!

   2. take care of yourself; goodbye: used as an expression of parting.

2. take care of,

   1. to watch over; be responsible for.

      to take care of an invalid.

   2. to deal with; attend to.

      I'll take care of the bill, and you can go out and get the car started.

3. couldn't care less, could not care less; be completely unconcerned: Also could care less.

   I couldn't care less whether she goes to the party or not.

CARE ² American  

[kair] / kɛər /

Or Care

noun

1. a private organization for the collection of funds, goods, etc., for distribution to people in foreign countries who need aid.

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care ¹ British  

/ kɛə /

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to be troubled or concerned; be affected emotionally

   he is dying, and she doesn't care

2. (intr; foll by for or about) to have regard, affection, or consideration (for)

   he cares more for his hobby than his job

3. to have a desire or taste (for)

   would you care for some tea?

4. to provide physical needs, help, or comfort (for)

   the nurse cared for her patients

5. (tr) to agree or like (to do something)

   would you care to sit down, please?

6. I am completely indifferent

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noun

1. careful or serious attention

   under her care the plant flourished

   he does his work with care

2. protective or supervisory control

   in the care of a doctor

3. (often plural) trouble; anxiety; worry

4. an object of or cause for concern

   the baby's illness was her only care

5. caution

   handle with care

6. Usual abbreviation: c/o. at the address of: written on envelopes

7. social welfare made the legal responsibility of a local authority by order of a court

CARE ² British  

/ kɛə /

acronym

1. Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere, Inc.; a federation of US charities, giving financial and technical assistance to many regions of the world

2. communicated authenticity, regard, empathy: the three qualities believed to be essential in the therapist practising client-centred therapy

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care More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing care

• couldn't care less
• for all (I care)
• in care of
• in charge (the care of)
• take care
• take care of
• tender loving care
• that's (takes care of) that

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Usage

Couldn't care less, a phrase used to express indifference, is sometimes heard as could care less, which ought to mean the opposite but is intended to be synonymous with the former phrase. Both versions are common mainly in informal speech.

Synonym Usage

To take care, pains, trouble (to do something) implies watchful, conscientious effort to do something exactly right. To take care implies the performance of one particular detail: She took care to close the cover before striking the match. To take pains suggests a sustained carefulness, an effort to see that nothing is overlooked but that every small detail receives attention: to take pains with fine embroidery. To take trouble implies an effort that requires a considerable amount of activity and exertion: to take the trouble to make suitable arrangements.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• carer
  noun
• overcare
  noun
• noncaring
  adjective
• uncaring
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cares
  plural

Participles

• caring
  present
• cared
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• care
  simple
• cares
  simple
• have cared
  perfect
• has cared
  perfect
• am caring
  progressive
• are caring
  progressive
• is caring
  progressive
• have been caring
  perfect progressive
• has been caring
  perfect progressive

Past

• cared
  simple
• had cared
  perfect
• was caring
  progressive
• were caring
  progressive
• had been caring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will care
  simple
• will have cared
  perfect
• will be caring
  progressive
• will have been caring
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of care¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun care “sadness, sorrow, grief,” Old English caru, cearu, cognate with Gothic kara, Old High German chara “lament”

Origin of CARE²

First recorded in 1945–50; shortening of C(ooperative for) A(merican) R(elief) E(verywhere)

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Explanation

To care is to feel concern, and care is attention given, tending, or upkeep. If you care about how your garden grows, you will take care to water it often, remove weeds, and talk to your plants about the weather. Care can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it originally had the sense of “sorrow, anxiety” or “serious mental attention,” and now means “oversight, protection.” If you have a fragile package, you might write "handle with care" on the box. As a verb, care means “to feel concern or interest” — as in, "If you care about your health you'll put down that cigarette!" If someone says she "couldn't care less," then she does not care at all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

care CARE cares cared caring

“Dancing robots are all a bit of fun, but we know there are some other really good things happening in health care, etc,” said Kinahan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Many people will stop reading right now because honestly, do you care what happens to those on death row?

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

The Case for Change argues that falling birth rates, workforce shortages and increasing numbers of women requiring more complex care are making it harder to sustain specialist services at every site.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Dentists could apply the gel directly to teeth using a procedure similar to existing fluoride treatments, making it potentially easy to incorporate into routine dental care.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

I don’t care about school or anything else.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

"If large numbers of rescued dogs had entered adoption programmes, animal groups like us would know about them," said Kim Young-hwan, a representative of animal rights group CARE.

From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026

Other organisations to be suspended include CARE, Medico International and Medical Aid for Palestinians.

From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2025

Mr. Comer said the State Department’s Coordinator for Afghan Relocation, or CARE, is at the center of those efforts.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 21, 2023

Before the coup, nearly 3 million people were facing severe food insecurity and hundreds of thousands were internally displaced, according to CARE, an international aid group.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 19, 2023

In January 1996, Fischer led a high-profile fund-raising ascent of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, that netted half a million dollars for the charity CARE.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

"I feel he's authentic, he cares but also that he's not scared to stand up," she added.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

Besides securing energy supplies, India cares deeply about the millions of its citizens who work in the Persian Gulf.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

This isn’t to say that either of them is a raging narcissist who cares only about themselves, but there’s no doubt that their sport’s seismic, life-altering dangers are on full display, warts and all.

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026

Abdullah said she cares deeply for Bass and considers her to be a longtime friend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

She has these warm brown eyes that make you believe she really cares.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

“It was made with a really hands-on approach by a very small group of people who cared a lot and that spirit has remained even as we’ve scaled it up,” Pinkleton said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

The statement said Cetina "cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family".

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

For most of Netflix’s history, investors cared less about how much people watched than whether they signed up and stayed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

If you really cared about yourself, you’d find a way to make it happen.

From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026

Cid who was not a myth but a father and daughter who cared about no one but themselves.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Prevost was a passionate ambassador of Francis's encyclical "Laudato Si,'" which focuses on caring for the planet as "our common home."

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

“The thing I’m most passionate about is just really caring for people.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

“Watching people I know who are famous interact with the world, everyone is paying attention to how you phrase something, or how caring you are,” Johanningmeier said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

For spouse caregivers living with the care recipients, costs were much lower than for an adult child caring for an aging parent but not living with them.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

“I thought I understood her. I thought if we put her in a supportive and caring environment, she’d do better.”

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

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Related Words

• carefulness
• conscientiousness
• diligence
• effort
• fastidiousness
• meticulousness
• scrupulousness

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